NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
Shareholder ⅠI
The world was an endless hell.
The reason I attached the word “Infinite Void” to the first otherworldly entity I encountered was because that term labeled it correctly in my subconscious.
“Hoee! This stage has seen 31 casualties!”
“......”
“Not a bad number, but compared to other dungeons, it's a poor performance. A bit more effort is required! With such results, the rewards I can offer you are quite insignificant... Hoi.”
“...This is.”
“It's Pig Slop! I heard it was often eaten by residents during the war here!”
Not many immediately understood that the war referred to the Korean War.
“The smell is terrible, but I’ve removed the deadly toxins for you... Though the rules strictly forbid such favoritism and partiality, I decided to make this small concession after witnessing your efforts...!”
“......”
“Anyway, enjoy this meal, your first in two days!”
The fairy vanished. In the basement of Busan Station, on the 6th floor, where a restaurant shouldn't have existed, 56 survivors and 56 bowls of Pig Slop remained.
Even those who were repelled by the smell gradually moved their hands. There were no spoons. Given that all 56 shared the same miserable scent, swallowing food with a similar odor wasn't difficult.
Cries occasionally echoed.
Eating couldn't be a sin.
If eating were a sin, life itself would be a punishment.
An article in the Kyunghyang Newspaper on May 20, 1964, contained such a sentence. The writer's name was Shin Young-gak. The column was titled "Hungry Crowd."
The 56 starving individuals hastily devoured the food to alleviate two days' worth of hunger.
Maintaining historical accuracy, the bowls were actually aluminum cans. The sounds of fingers scraping and rubbing the cans echoed through the cheap aluminum.
Eating couldn't be a sin...
If eating were a sin, life itself would be a punishment...
Hell was a place where condemned sinners lived, so the world was hell.
Occasionally, gagging sounds briefly interrupted the restaurant's atmosphere. These sounds were less about the food and more about the misery of life. Things that couldn't be swallowed or digested traveled down people's throats.
Afterward, sounds like "Mom" or "Fuck" were probably just burps.
Jingle.
The sound of a bell rang out. People who had finished eating turned to look at me.
It was my bell. I couldn't remember if I used my aura to make the bell sound louder before the 5th cycle.
This Silver Bell was an item I farmed in every cycle, even during vacation cycles.
I remembered the farming location clearly. The souvenir shop in the waiting room. Turn left from the entrance, seventh shelf, fourth row from the top.
Even after looters ransacked the shop, this useless bell, which only made noise and attracted monsters, was always left behind.
I needed it.
“It's Undertaker…”
“Where's Jung So-hee? He's alone...”
“Shh, don't look at him.”
“He'll drag you into the abyss.”
People in the restaurant whispered. Among them were faces I still remembered, and others that had vanished from reality.
Kim Joo-chul, the football player sealed in time during the 4th cycle, would have been among them.
I continued to recall. If this were the 3rd cycle, the number of survivors in this stage would be 11, not 56, and Lee Baek would be among them.
“Hey, Undertaker! Plague!”
Lee Baek would have stood up and shouted.
“Did you come begging for Pig Slop? Sorry, but we don't have enough food to share with a plague like you! Everyone! Don’t share your food with him. We don't have the luxury to support a solo player like him!”
In a voice like that. With lines like those.
Reconstructing the novel Oh Dok-seo read, as if restoring an old newspaper, it seemed Lee Baek said those things to me.
According to Oh Dok-seo’s analysis, Lee Baek said such things to 'consolidate his power over the survivors,' 'select an outcast to isolate,' 'make eating Pig Slop a privilege,' and 'appear to bear the burden of harsh words for the group's sake.'
My response was simple.
“Does anyone want to escape this hell?”
“......”
“Anyone who wants eternal peace? Anyone?”
The restaurant fell silent.
Even Lee Baek for a moment.
I looked around. Lightly enough not to be intimidating. Thoroughly enough not to miss a single face.
“Shut up and get lost!”
If it were Lee Baek, he would have swung his stick, angry that he hesitated even briefly.
“Um, I...”
In another cycle, someone would have cautiously raised their hand.
“Me too...”
There would have been more hands in the 4th cycle than in the 5th, more in the 3rd cycle than in the 4th, and even more in the 1st cycle.
These hands had scooped Pig Slop, killed monsters, and murdered other humans.
An elderly woman knew she no longer had grandchildren or family to caress with those hands.
“Young man. Do it for me. The funeral, was it?”
“With my ability, if you enter the dream, others will lose all memories of you. No one will remember you.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The elderly woman muttered.
“It doesn’t matter, that stuff.”
A transparent tombstone appeared.
Whether I was in Busan Station or beyond, tombstones lined my path. I couldn’t remember exactly, but at least 500,000 tombstones had been erected.
Even when the cycle restarted, the tombstones never disappeared.
At the beginning of each new cycle, hundreds of thousands of humans 'vanished in an instant.' No one knew about their disappearance.
Except for one person.
The world was hell, and the bell always rang in that place.
I was the death row inmate who killed the most humans in this hell.
Thousands of years later.
“Mister. I am undoubtedly your only true understanding.”
A cheeky kid boldly declared this.
Hairstyle? Short red bob. Weapon? Baseball bat. Fashion? Rapper-style cap, jacket, and jeans with three tears.
Signature pose? Chewing ordinary gum like bubble gum, blowing it until it popped, covering her whole face in gum.
Oh Dok-seo.
In short, an idiot.
This girl, who clearly needed psychological treatment, dared to claim:
“I’ve read the novel [Omniscient Regressor's Viewpoint], which contains your entire life story. I’ve read your innermost thoughts and monologues. I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Really. Should I sue you for invasion of privacy?”
“Huh? No… So, please save me. My shield’s about to break.”
Bang bang bang bang!
Oh Dok-seo crouched down. A transparent shield formed around her, with three goblins enthusiastically beating it.
-Screech! Screech!
-Eek, quack! Kheek!
These were regular monsters in the tutorial dungeon.
Three-on-one. It was a textbook scene of a gangbang, and Uehara Shino, now part of our party, was stomping her feet.
“Um, Undertaker-san. Shouldn’t we help her...?”
“No. This is part of her training.”
“Ugh. Go for it, Dok-seo-chan! Ganbare!”
“Ganbare my ass! Help me, dammit!”
Bang clang bang clang!
Initially, the goblins found the transparent drum amusing, but now they treated it like an instrument. Bang! Clang! Bang! Their Dionysian rhythm turned this place into a rock festival.
By the way, Dionysus’s followers had a tradition of tearing people apart and eating them after festivals. Judging by the goblins' eyes on Dok-seo, the festival's sacrifice was already decided.
-Keeheeheehee!
“Eek?! M-Mister! Please save me! Only 30 seconds left on my shield!”
Absolute Defense.
She called it the [AT Field]. A shield that nullified attacks.
It was one of Oh Dok-seo’s abilities.
I believed it reflected her mindset of seeing herself as a 'reader dropped into a novel world.' Her skill manifested her way of separating herself from this world.
It was an overpowered skill with a fatal flaw: she could only use it once a day, for just one minute.
“Dok-seo, I’ve told you many times. No matter how OP your skill is, it’s useless if you don’t train yourself.”
“But I’ve already killed 11 monsters today! I’m exhausted! I’m tired! We’ve been walking for six hours since dawn. Please help me! Eek? It’s cracking, I heard it crack, it’s really cracking!”
“Stop whining.”
Smash— The shield shattered, and the goblins’ clubs rushed in. Oh Dok-seo screamed bizarrely and swung her bat.
“Hiyaaah!”
The bat glowed red with aura. Thwack! A goblin's head burst. Foul.
-Screech?
-Eek?
The goblins, thinking they were up against a KBO batter, were bewildered by the sudden Major League swing.
Regardless, Dok-seo executed the moves I taught her in the past few days, striking with her bat.
“Hyaah! Die! Die! You monster bastard, dieee!”
-Squeegh?
Foul. Foul. With two strikes, no pitchers on the opposing team. The goblins were disqualified, leaving Dok-seo victorious.
Dok-seo dropped her shoulders and bat, panting heavily.
“Huff, wheeze— Huff, wheeze...”
“See? You can do it. These days, kids lack perseverance, whining before even trying…”
“I’ll kill you!”
Dok-seo swung her bat at me, but such a slow swing couldn’t hit me.
Swing and a miss. Out.
For daring to attack her master, I gave her a flick on the forehead. My dark aura reverberated through her skull with just the right amount of pain.
'Just the right amount' meant, hmm, like getting kicked in the balls for a guy?
“Arghhh!”
Dok-seo threw the bat (throwing a bat after an out, such poor sportsmanship) and rolled on the ground.
“I’m dying! I’m really dying! My head is shattered! Ahhh! I’m dying!”
“You’re not dying. It’s not shattered. Get up and eat. Uehara, please set up the mat. Let’s have lunch.”
“Ah, yes.”
Uehara Shino, the porter, set up the mat expertly.
This was quite different from the 4th cycle. We didn't have the luxury of carrying a mat back then.
We cooked the retort foods we took from the convenience store deliciously. No need for fire. We used aura to heat, cook, and boil the food. It was the most luxurious cooking method in the world.
Uehara twirled pasta on a fork, her expression melting.
“Wow. It’s delicious…”
“The pasta is perfectly cooked, right? I noticed Uehara likes slightly undercooked, al dente pasta.”
“Oh, yes. It’s exactly to my taste. Your cooking is better than what I’ve had at professional restaurants!”
“Thanks.”
Then, from behind a pillar, the fairy peeked out.
“Hoee. Smells good…”
“Hmm? What? Are you going to eat too?”
“Eek. I am an impartial judge. I cannot accept bribes from the participants…”
“This isn’t a bribe; it’s a gratuity. It’s a gift from the people to the vanguard striving tirelessly for the world revolution.”
“Hoee! Food made from the people’s blood and sweat… Ignoring it would be bourgeois behavior. As a staunch revolutionary, I cannot refuse…”
“Here. I made salmon steak.”
“Hoee! Truly revolutionary taste!”
Japanese and fairy laughter bloomed on the mat. True harmony between past and present enemies.
“Ugh…”
Only the chuunibyou otaku lay sprawled next to the mat, groaning.
“Me too... I’m hungry…”
“Do you have no hands or feet? Get your food from the mat and eat it.”
“Why are you so cold to me?”
Dok-seo whined.
“You make me fight monsters alone! Make me train aura alone! What did I do wrong, huh?”
“It’s because I expect much from you, kid.”
“Ugh. I can’t live like this. I’m so upset... Damn, why is the pasta so good? It’s retort food.”
“Um, Dok-seo-chan. That was mine…”
“Hoee. This BLT rye sandwich is also revolutionary! You deserve the Cooking Hero Medal!”
The balance of protein, carbs, and fats was perfect. It was an overly luxurious lunch for beginners in a tutorial dungeon.
Ultimately, our 4th cycle exploration turned into a luxury trip... But that’s fine. I hope these kids enjoy luxuries when they can.
We stood up, neither too full nor too hungry, with our stomachs nicely coated.
“One more floor down, and we’ll reach the boss room. Once we defeat the boss, the tutorial dungeon ends.”
“Yeah. You’ll defeat the boss, right?”
“No? Veterans shouldn’t steal newbies’ experience. You’ll clear it alone, Dok-seo.”
“...?”
“...?”
As we continued our cheerful conversation, stepping onto the stairs to the 13th basement floor, I felt a strong presence from the opposite corridor.
“Wait. Everyone, stop.”
Our group looked at me. It was amusing that fairy number 264 was included, but my mouth didn’t smile.
“People are approaching.”
“Approaching? How many?”
“One hundred seventeen.”
“......”
“All the remaining survivors. Get ready. Dok-seo, come to my side. Uehara, to the back.”
I positioned myself in the middle of the corridor.
“We’ll stand our ground here.”
After saying that, something strange happened. My right hand instinctively moved to my waist.
To the empty belt, as if weapons like fire axes should have been hanging there.
My fingers groped the air.
“......”
A bizarre sense of déjà vu enveloped me.
A very long time ago, thousands of years past, it felt like I had experienced this exact scene.
Footnotes:
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